Scorpions - Extra information for learners

They come running across the ground or crawl from under a rock, tail up and pinchers out.  They look very scary and can hurt you, so look out.

source

Scorpions are in the same family as spiders and mites called Arachnida and they can be harmful.

A scorpion has 8 legs and also pinchers at the front which are called pedipalps and it has a narrow tail with a stinger at the end.

When a scorpion sees its prey, it will grab it with its pinchers and then quickly bring forward its tail and sting the prey to paralyze it.  It can also defend itself with the stinger during a fight, or when it feels threatened.

Scorpions can be found on all continents except for Antarctica.

There is about 1750 types of scorpions and although we are often very scared of them, their are actually only 25 kinds that can kill a human with its venom.

The scorpion will spend most of the day hidden under a rock and since they are nocturnal, they will become active during the night and go out to hunt.

Scorpions can live without food for a long time - they can eat a lot of food at once and then since their metabolisms work so slowly they can stay without food for as long as 6 months.

In some countries like China people eat fried scorpions and are also used as traditional medicine.

A scorpion has a skeleton on the outside to protect it, called an exoskeleton.  It cannot grow, so it has to shed its skin in order to grow bigger.  This is called moulting.  This happens about 7 times during its life and it takes a little while before the new exoskeleton hardens.  If it is not hard, they can be easily hurt.

• Watch the video and answer the questions.

source

1. How many types of scorpions are there and in which areas will you find most of them.
2. Where do they hide during the day?
3. What does the pinchers do?
4. When do they use the stinger?
5. Do scorpions like to be bothered?

Team South Africa banner designed by @bearone